None.
This invention relates to the area of stickers. More particularly, this invention relates to making stickers from index prints that are produced when a photographic film is developed.
Stickers can be both fun and functional and are used by people of all ages and sexes. Children collect stickers and use them to decorate any number of items. Adults likewise use stickers to decorate items, and may also use them as labels or as a way to hold envelopes closed. There are several types of stickers that are commercially available, but it is not possible for consumers to buy personalized stickers made with the consumer""s own photographs.
Index prints are available to consumers after a film is developed. These index prints contain small thumbnail images of each photographic image that appears on the film. The goal of index prints is to aid the consumer in identifying which photographs appear on which film negative. Unfortunately, the index print often gets separated from the film negatives and as such, has limited value for its intended purpose.
The present invention combines the fun of stickers with the utility of index prints. By printing an index print as stickers, the present invention allows a consumer to peel off and use a personalized sticker. Alternately, the present invention allows the consumer to leave the stickers in place for an intact index print.
Index sticker prints are made by providing a sticker blank carrier with a specific number of sticker blanks. Since most films contain a maximum of thirty-six exposures, but may allow for taking a few extra pictures, the number of stickers blanks is set at greater than thirty-six.
A photographic film image is scanned to produce digital image data for each image on the film. Once this digital image data is collected, the data can be formatted to produce images of a size corresponding to the size of the sticker blanks. In printing the stickers, each individual digital image corresponding to each photographic image on the film is printed on a sticker blank. This results in one sticker of every image on the film. If there are more stickers blanks than there are photographic images on the film, some photographic images can be repeated to fill the empty sticker blanks. Once the printing is complete, the finished stickers are dispensed to the consumer who can then peel and use the stickers from their backing as stickers.